Iran Grants Basij Defense, Police Power

Middle East Newsline:

Iran has expanded the authority of the Basij militia to include police, defense and relief operations. Officials said the new government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad approved a plan to enhance the role of the Basij Resistance Force. Under the plan, the Basij would become a fully-fledged defense unit with police and military authority.

The Basij, said to have about 1 million members, has been designated as the shield of the Islamic regime and its principles. Over the last few years, the regime has used the Basij to quell pro-reform student demonstrations and enforce the Islamic dress code in and around Iranian universities.

Officials said that under the latest plan the Basij would be granted arrest powers. They said Basij officers would be trained in tracking and capturing offenders of the Islamic dress code and other religious mores.